A student coalition is demanding University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank step down following her responses to an Associated Students of Madison divestment legislation.
On Wednesday, ASM voted unanimously on a bill calling for the university and its foundation to divest from several companies including private prisons, fossil fuel corporations, and banks that “oppress marginalized communities.”
The original legislation was introduced on March 29, but was tabled after hours of debate, mostly due to a call to divest from several named Israeli companies, which made some Jewish students feel alienated.
A revised resolution was later introduced to alleviate those feelings.
“The amended resolution highlights divesting from banks and private prisons that profit off of minority oppression and rebuke corporations that engage in resource extraction from indigenous lands without consent, harming indigenous people’s way of life, divesting from fossil corporations, border walls and arms manufacturers,” according to a Badger Herald article.
Once the legislation went up for debate amongst the student body, members began to introduce amendments included in the previous version of the resolution, including one that named Israeli companies.
The controversy led to two Jewish student council members walking out of the meeting, but the legislation still passed.
The university released a statement Wednesday condemning the council’s actions.
“UW-Madison values and welcomes members of all faiths and identities. We have heard clearly from the Jewish community how targeted they feel by the actions of the last month. Chancellor Blank has made clear her opposition to the concept of BDS and academic boycotts,” according to the statement.
The university also made it clear it will not be adhering to the legislation.
“The Associated Students of Madison’s Student Council is independent of the university administration. It does not control UW–Madison policies or practices and its actions tonight will not result in a change in our approach, or that of the WFAA, which is driven by its obligation to maximize the impact of a donor’s gift on the intended program in the university.”
This response sparked response from a coalition called UW Divest made up of several student groups including MEChA, the Wisconsin Black Student Union, and Students for Justice in Palestine at UW-Madison.
“The University says that is ‘driven by its obligation to maximize the impact of a donor’s gift on the intended program in the university’ in other words the administration values profits over people,” read the statement.
The coalition has also made it clear that the legislation was not a part of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS), which Blank opposes.
“The corporations perpetuating mass incarceration for Black people in America are the same one’s perpetuating the occupation in Israel and it’s only right we have solidarity,” said Tyriek Mack, Student Council representative for the School of Education.
“They showed in their statement that they clearly don’t value the voices of marginalized communities, because in their response they didn’t talk about the private prisons or the DAPL pipelines they’ve invested in,” said Mack.
Mack also said that students were off-put by the passion of the statement on Blank’s behalf because they haven’t seen similar passion on issues dealing with Black students.
“I’ve never seen her do that when it comes to black students, there’s never been that type of solidarity when it comes to us,” said Mack.
Israel was also not the only country named in legislation, according to Mack, who named Egypt, Syria, and Yemen as other countries mentioned.
In addition to the Chancellor’s resignation, the coalition also asked for University Communications to apologize for releasing the statement.
A UW spokesperson said Blank will not be stepping down in an email to The Badger Herald.
The coalition plans to take further action, according to Mack.
“We’re meeting tomorrow to figure out our next steps,” said Mack. “We have a general consensus there will be some direct action.”
